'All Others' Favored in Pool Two of Derby Future Wager

The “all others” bet remains the morning line favorite for the second of three pools of Churchill Downs’ 2007 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”), which launches its four-day run March 8.

Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia has installed the mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual horses listed on the roster of 24 betting interests in KDFW Pool 2, as the 4-1 favorite for the pool. Betting opens at noon (all times Eastern) March 8 and is scheduled to close at 6 p.m. March 11. The “all others” bet closed as the 5-2 favorite in Pool 1, which ran from Feb. 8-11.

The favored individual horses in Battaglia’s morning line for the second Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool are James Tafel’s Street Sense, the reigning 2-year-old champion and winner of the $2-million Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I); J. Paul Reddam’s Great Hunter, third in the Juvenile and winner of last week’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita; and Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Ravel, winner of the Sham (gr. III) at Santa Anita. All three horses are listed at odds of 8-1.

Elizabeth Valando’s Nobiz Like Shobiz, the favored individual horse in KDFW Pool 1 at odds of 8-1, is listed as a 15-1 risk in Pool 2 following his upset loss to Scat Daddy (12-1) in last week’s Fountain of Youth (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, a two-time Eclipse Award winner who is seeking his first Kentucky Derby win, trains six – or 25%– of Pool 2’s 24 betting interests. Pletcher’s horses are Any Given Saturday (12-1), Circular Quay (12-1), King of the Roxy (30-1), Sam P. (20-1), Ravel, and Scat Daddy.

Doug O’Neill, who is hoping to saddle his first Kentucky Derby starter, trains four Pool 2 contenders. O’Neill’s horses are Great Hunter, Liquidity (30-1), Notional (15-1), and Cobalt Blue (50-1).

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager allows racing fans to wager on contenders for the 133rd Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands at odds that could be significantly better than those they would receive on the day of the race. The wager is a $2 minimum bet and a win wager only. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and winning payouts on Kentucky Derby Day, May 5, will be based on the odds that are in place at the conclusion of each of the three KDFW pools.

The list of betting interests in KDFW Pool 2 includes 10 new horses that were not on the betting roster in the opening pool of 2007. Those horses are Birdbirdistheword, who runs in the March 10 Louisiana Derby (GII); Cobalt Blue, impressive in a recent allowance win for owner and TV impresario Merv Griffin; Curlin, a dominant winner in his only race and now preparing for his first outing for new trainer Steve Asmussen; Flying First Class, an impressive winner last out for four-time Derby-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas; Imawildandcrazyguy, another Louisiana Derby contender; King of the Roxy, winner of the Hutcheson (GII) at Gulfstream Park; Officer Rocket, runner-up in the Southwest at Oaklawn Park; Robert B. Lewis runner-up Sam P.; Summer Doldrums, who runs this weekend in the Gotham (GIII) at Aqueduct; and Teuflesberg, upset winner of the Southwest at Oaklawn Park for trainer Jamie Sanders.